eu?4 - journal
NATIONAL NEWSPAPER
Ca,fo?ctui
PRESS
ASS OCIATION
Published fcvcry Thursday ?( Raeford, N.C. 28376
119 W. fclwood Avenue
Subscription Rates In Advance
Per Yeai - 55.00 6 Months - S2.7S 3 Months - $1.50
PAUL DICKSON PuNitfier-Editor
SAM C.MORRIS General Manager
MRS. PAUL DICKSON Society Editor
MARTY VEGA Reporter
Second Class Postage at Racford. N.C.
THURSDAY, OCTOBER 30, 1975
Next Tuesday
Your Vote...
A right? A privilege? A duly?
... or just showing some sense?
Most of us, of course, look upon our right to vote in city, state
and federal elections as a precious right, as much a part of our
Americal heritage as our right to say what we think, to come and go
as we please, to own property. It is true also that this franchise we
hold so dear is a privilege when compared to the voice in
government exercised elsewhere. You know that there are more
countries in this world where the people have no voice in their
government than where they do, so from that view voting is
certainly a privilege.
We are so notorious for not caring enough about our right to vote
in this country that we have the habit as election times approach of
shouting to each other about voting being our duty. There is merit
to this argument, too, for if the people are going to run the
country, as they at least theoretically do here in the USA, then it
follows that it is the duty of each to do his part.
Another thing we are notorious about, though, in this fine land,
is our ability not to be too greatly motivated by the word duty.
Most of us look upon doing our duty as an unpleasant task, and
something to be avoided by any legal means. Think of our attitudes
toward jury duty, and our income tax returns, and obeying traffic
and liquor laws, just to name a few.
What happens about voting is that we do intend to vote, usually,
and we will do it if we happen to think of it at the right time, and
don't happen to be on a fishing or some other kind of business trip,
or if we happen to feel upon occasion that we have a direct personal
interest in the persons or issues being voted on.
There, at last, is what will get us to do it, personal interest. We'll
not vote or not do jury duty, or not do a lot of things if we have
personal irons in a fire somewhere that need looking after. We
won't miss a directors meeting if we have stock in the company,
and we won't miss the cash checkup if some of the money belongs
to us, but we can't usually see this self interest in just going to cast
a vote for some characters who can't be so great. Why, we've known
them all their lives. (A great man or an expert has to be a certain
number of miles from home to assume his greatness or expertness,
you know)
Well, the self-interest is there in this town election next Tuesday.
It's a right fair-sized business in which the voters and residents of
Raeford have a considerable stake, and it's nothing more nor less
than good sense to be one of the twenty or thirty per cent who are
going to choose those who will run it for the next two years. You
see, whatever a man (sorry, ladies, not "person" in this case) -
whatever a man is running for in this town election, he'll get a lot of
his friends to vote for him, and the people who think they may
benefit from having him run the town will vote for him and get
their friends to go along, and the relatives of those who might stand
to benefit from him helping run the town will vote for him to
reduce the risk of having to help them out if things get tough ... My
Goodness! I'm afraid 1 have already named the twenty or thirty per
cent who usually vote, so I don't know who will vote purely on the
basis of who among the candidates may do the best job for-the rest
of us who have no interest but owning the town and paying the
taxes.
And the point, of course, is that we each need to figure out these
people running, try to figure why they want to be on the town
board and what each of them will do when and if he gets there.
Then, not on the basis of who is the best fellow or who can best
take care of his friends from a position on the town board, but on
who we think can do the best and fairest job for the whole town,
on that basis alone we really need to manage to be in Raeford next
Tuesday and make it a point to go vote. Not to do it is not too
smart, in my opinion.
- Paul Dickson
Browsing in the files
of The News-Journal
25 years ago
Thunday, October 26,19S0
The "State"Magazine. published
and edited by Carl Goerch. which
carries interesting tacts and stories
about various North Carolina
people and places each week, last
week carried an article on Raeford
and Hoke county.
,"^sr'v ** "<
Edwin Raymond Pickler. promi
nent fanner and former county
commissioner of the Ashley Heights
section of the county, suffered a
fatal heart attack near Pittsboro
Monday morning while on his way
to Danville. Va.. with a load of
tobacco.
15 years ago
Thunday, October 27, I960
Success seemed just around the
corner Wednesday morning in the
United Fund drive, as Chairman
William Lamont reported less than
$400 needed to make the goal.
A large number of grown - ups
went "back to school" Sunday
afternoon, visiting every room in
the new Hoke County High School
building, peering into every corner
and cranny and expressing their
pleasure at all the modern fixtures
thev saw there.
'The Supreme Court has just decided that any
corrective process can involve a spanking'
T^^hnitiJ^cSnc^IonltoT
?by Marly Vega ?
Reader Help Asked
Not all of you may realize that a
newspaper like the N-J cannot
function without a thoroughly
knowledgable farm editor and, of
course, no one here is more
qualified than I, but many people
don't seem to realize this (or
appreciate it).
You see. a tremendous amount
of agricultural news comes in the
mail every day and it takes someone
who has the ability to rapidly digest
all kinds of facts and information
and comprehend all of it with no
difficulty with terms and phrases
used in modern farming
operations.
Of course, it is necessary for me
to keep up with the technical
journals from time to time, but for
the most part. I have such a broad
background in the subject that I
can quickly grasp the significance
of new developments, whether it be
cotton, soybeans, corn, or whatever.
But from time to time some new
wrinkle comes up and I find myself
ignorant, as just the other day when
1 was discussing at length some
common problems facing breeders
of February pigs and the high
production costs.
So 1 am appealing to the readers
for help with a very perplexing
question which camc up here in the
office and for which I could offer no
answer.
Any fool knows what a sow is.
w hat a gilt is. but what do you call a
castrated boar? The consensus here
is that there is a name for such an
animal, but nobody seems to know
it. So if anybody out there knows,
please let me know so 1 can shut
these people up.
Thb Week's Safety Tip
Now that darkness comes earlier
these days and more time will be
spent driving during this earlier
darkness we should all be extra
careful along the roads.
Particularly watch out for the
chickens along the Fayetteville
Road, as many of these chickens do
graze rather close to the roadway
and may not be mindful of the
traffic.
Also, young chickens may not
remember to look both ways before
crossing the highway. These are the
ones w ho cannot fly. The ones w ho
can fly would fly across the road.
The ones who do not fly either
haven't learned or don't care to.
Some chickens fly. some don't.
They all appear to have wings,
though.
So let's be extra careful.
This past week the Senate Banking
Committee, of which I am a member,
took up the proposal for federal aid
to New York City in its financial
crisis.
And there is no doubt that the
nation's largest city, is in a crisis.
New York is broke. She has been
badly managed and gone deeper into
debt each year to finance the most
expensive programs in America.
New York's garbage collectors, for
instance, arc paid more than are high
school principals in North Carolina.
Policemen there make higher salaries
than do sheriffs in our state. A
student can attend college there
without paying tuition. Welfare
payments arc among the highest in
the nation and arc reportedly loosely
administered.
To finance all of these extravagant
programs. New York City has
borrowed steadily, principally by
issuing bonds, even though the laws
of the Slate of New York say that
the city must live within a balanced
budget. Now the bonds are due and
there is no money in the city's
treasury to redeem them.
The city first turned to the state
but New York State, unlike North
Carolina, has been doing some deficit
O^'O/V
Puppy Creek
Philosopher
Dear editor:
Congress no doubt will -? as it
has in the past for England.
France. Germany. Japan. Russia.
Portugal. Sweden, Belgium and
many more I could name if I knew
more geography bail New York
out of its financial crisis, but the
thought that it might not opens up
a lot of interesting speculation.
For instance, say the city did go
under, was abandoned when it was
finally realized there really wasn't
much point in having 10 million
people stacked on top of each other
on such a narrow strip of land
where nobody has room to keep a
milk cow. Can you imagine where
all the brains would scatter to?
Take television. I can hear it
now: "This is the NBC Nightly
News with John Chancelor in
Washington and David Brinkley in
Raeford.
Now that might be all right but
there are more serious problems.
Take those Broadway plays. I'm
not sure some of them would go
over here in Raeford. Or take Wall
Street. The last thing we'd need
around here would be a bunch of
financiers who were so busy
handling money they didn't know
their city was going broke. New
York reminds me of the young man
who woke up one morning and
realized his monthly payments for
his car. television set. furniture,
boat and power lawnmower totaled
more than his monthly salary, with
nothing figured in for groceries.
No. Wall Street would be more at
home in Washington.
What to do with all those tall
buildings has me stumped. The
only thing I can think of is to just
let them stand for a few hundred
years till they become a tourist
attraction as puzzling as the
pyramids. In fact they'd beat the
pyramids. You could stare at them
without getting sand in your eyes.
What to do with all the editors,
publishers and writers now stuffed
into the city is another problem,
but scattering them out over the
country might be beneficial. It'd
give them a chance to find out how
different the country is from what
they thought it was.
Yours faithfully.
J.A.
CLIFF BLUE ...
People & Issues
ECU MED SCHOOL - Recently
the Advisory Committee on
Medical Education at East Caro
lina University met and heard a
progress report. Dr. Jenkins re
ported that ECU was on a very tight
schedule with September 1976 the
target date for accepting students
to enter the medical school. Jenkins
says he is confident ECU will meet
it's objective of opening the medical
school next year "if the wheels of
state bureaucracy can be greased."
Our thought is that there may well
be cogs in the wheels of democracy
that may run like molasses in the
wintertinv ?? and delay the opening
date, unless a close vigil is
maintained!
BACKWARD GLANCE -- With
Reagan appearing to be gaining on
Ford and moving into a major
contender category for the GOP
Presidential nomination, it is in
teresting to take a backward glance
at presidential politics. Eight years
ago Governor Romney of Michigan
was leading-GOP candidate for
president, but when he came home
some weeks before the New Hamp
shire primary, saying he had been
"brain washed" while in Vietnam,
his stock began to melt like snow in
the springtime with Nixon moving
into front place.
Wonder if Nixon today, as he
looks back, would prefer that
Romney had never uttered that
"brain washed" statement and
gone on to nominated and elected
president?
And four years ago at this time
Muskie was the leading candidate
for the Democratic presidential
nomination, and as the New
Hampshire primary approached
tears came in his eyes and he
almost, and maybe, did cry in front
of the Manchester, N.H. news
paper, and his stock like Romney's
four year earlier began to melt,
even in cold New Hampshire
weather!
ISSUES ?? While we have
candidates of both parties running
for governor in North Carolina --
some announced and some while
unannounced, running just as
hard, no major issue has come into
focus.
An issue which may arise which
could become controversial in
cludes separate board for com
munity colleges and technical
institutes which would mean a
break-off from out the State Board
of Education similar to the
break-off of the Wildlife division
from the Board of Conservation
and Development in 1947.
PFEIFFER REPORT -- While
most of the privately operated
institutions have found the going
quite hard in recent years and
particularly so during the past 12
months. Pfeiffer College, a Meth
odist operated College at Misen
heimer in Stanley County has a
record to be proud of. Here are
some salient facts pointed out by
William S. Reasonover. director of
public relations for the college:
1. Pfeiffer enrolled an even 900
students for the 1974-75 year but
this fall 1975-76 enrollment hit
1.034. Here are some of the factors
Reasonover points out that could
attribute to the upped enrollment^
2. A reorganized recruiting ap?
proach utilizing a professionally
produced sound 35mm colored
slide show and a first rate staff.
3. A high degree of personal '
contact and follow up with prospec
tive students using non-duplicating
records kept on the college com
puter.
4. An exceptional degree of
cooperation with referrals from
alumni, present students and their
parents, ministers and other friends
of the college.
5. The expansion of the college's
minor sports program with added
emphasis on such areas as women's
field hockey, women's tennis, wom
en's basketball, coeducational
swimming, and a reorganization of
men's soccor. the college's only
contact sport. This, we are told,
attracted many students.
6. The fact that the Pfeiffer
basketball team claimed the
1975 Carolina Conference Cham
pionship generated broad news
coverage and helped to reinforce a
highly positive image the college's
public relations office was project
ing.
In an attepmt to reduce expenses
this fall, the College's energy
conservation committee is striving
to reduce costs by $25,000 the
usage between the peak periods of 4
p.m. and 8 p.m. By further
monitoring heating controls,
Pfeiffer officials believe an ad
ditional $25,000 in cost can be
saved. Good luck to Pfeiffer. We'll
be watching!
Letters To The Editor
To the Editor:
My husband and I polled the
candidates for city council, except
Mr. Hestel Garrison who could not
be contacted, and asked each of
them if he was elected would he
vote "YES" or "NO" for reinstate
ment of John Gaddy as city
Report
To The
People
by Senator Robert Morgan
financing of its own and says it can
help no futher. So city and state
officials descended on Washington
asking the Federal Government to
rescue the city.
I opposed the measures to bring
the Federal Government into New
York City's financial crisis. I believe
it is dangerous for the U.S.
Government to get involved with the
city's day-to-day budgeting and
financing. The government simply is
not going to rescue New York City
without attaching some strings and
once that happens, then you have the
Federal Government expanding into
control of municipalities.
I also opposed the request because
it doesn't seem to me that the tax
paid by a teacher in North Carolina
should be used to pay the higher
salary of a garbage collector or
fireman in New York.
We have been pressured in the
Senate by dire warnings that unless
Washington comes to the rescue.
New York City's problems may
affect the whole nation. There may
be some tremors in the bond
markets, but I believe the effect will
be slight on political subdivisions
with good credit ratings, and this
means most North Carolina cities and
towns. And of course our state with
its annual balanced budget and AAA
credit rating can get the lowest
interest rates the market has to offer.
We have earned this by being frugal.
New York City, where billions are
invested, isn't going., to dry _ up or
blow away. It will still be there, and
what it must do is to get its house in
order and stop its extravagances.
manager. Their responses were as
follows:
Robert Weaver: "I made the
motion to accept his resignation."
Graham Clark: "I just don't
know whether he could be reinstat
ed .. . the attorney general's office
has not ruled on it."
Crawford Thomas: "Legally I
don't think he could be city
manager."
Carlton Niven: "I can't make an
honest answer to that."
Danny Morrison: "I don't
know."
Sam Morris: "I'd vote no."
Benny McLeod: "I voted to
accept his resignation and I would
remain with that position unless
some new evidence was presented
that would completely resolve the
charges that were brought against
him."
David Lovetts: "Under the cir
cumstances. I would vote no."
As we feel very strongly that to
suggest that a man convicted of
misappropriation of public funds
should even be considered for
reinstatement as city manager is
ludicrous, our telephone interviews
with the candidates were very
enlightening for my husband and
me and helped greatly in making
up our minds as to how to cast our '
votes on Nov. 4th.
It is appalling to us to think that
a city council, which might move to
rehire a man who made no defense
against charges of having wronged
the community he served, could be
elected. Thus we are sharing the
above information with the other
citizens of Raeford in hopes that it
will be helpful to them when they
go to the polls on election day.
Mrs. Reginald L. Harris
Last Thursday night 16 youths of
the Second Baptist Church sat
around on the floor of their
fellowship room listening with
interest to Mr. Charles Campbell, our
new juvenile officer.
He gave of his own time to speak
to us about Halloween safety and
other law enforcement interest. For
an hour, he held the close interest of
our group from age 7 to 18! That's
saying a lot for any adult! To the
people of Hoke County who don't
know Mr. Campbell ?? you should
really take the time. He knows the 1
hows and whys of our laws and our
youth -including the teenager!
Thank you Mr. Campbell for
caring about us.
Youth of Second Baptist Church